October 2013

On Tuesday November 17, 2013, Geralyn "Sam" Zeller from Fermilab will give a seminar on neutrino research. The seminar will be held in Rm 145 in the Meyer Science Center and is open for the public. Entrance is free.

Neutrinos are among the most abundant particles in the universe, yet there is a surprising amount of information we still do not know about them. The discovery of neutrino masses and mixing over a decade ago has raised a large number of challenging questions about neutrinos and their connections to the world we live in.

After briefly reviewing what we have learned about neutrinos so far, we will examine these open questions, explain why they are interesting, and discuss plans for answering them in future experiments.

Thursday, 10 Oct, there will be a McIntyre Lecture at 7pm in SCI 145 by Prof. Jeffrey Koperski, a philosopher of science at Saginaw Valley State University:
Title: Divine Intervention and the Laws of Nature: Does God need Quantum Mechanics?
Abstract
Christians believe that God has ordained the laws of nature. At least since Leibniz, though, many theists have been uncomfortable with the view that God also occasionally breaks those laws in order to act within nature. Today, noninterventionists look for ways in which God might act without violating natural law. Most proposals involve quantum indeterminacy. In this talk, I will consider the theological, philosophical, and scientific arguments for noninterventionism to see whether God in some sense needs quantum mechanics to keep from violating the laws of nature.
All are welcome to the lecture.